Reel Reviews with Handlink: Argo

Story, above all, drives the success of Argo. It is the telling of the fascinating true event, declassified in 1997, of a CIA agent's crazy plan to rescue 6 U.S. hostages from Iran in 1980, by posing them as a Hollywood film production crew. As someone in the film calls it, it is "the best worst plan they have" - so crazy that it just might work. And because of the great story, Argo worked.

Ben Affleck is quickly becoming known for his effective directing skills, something which is turning his career around after acting in a series of disappointing films and having an over-publicized personal life. He does well with Argo, bringing an aesthetically pleasing design to this 'period' film, but is most effective by brilliantly casting the film with excellent talent - most notably John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston. The strong performances by these actors combined with the highly entertaining story makes for a dramatic and suspenseful movie.

The film's heavy subject is balanced out well with the humor of the ridiculous, though ultimately effective, rescue plan: believably produce a fake 'Star Wars type' movie for the sake of their cover, with several lives hanging in the balance. You'll see that faking a Hollywood film production was not as easy as it might sound. You still need to raise the money, find a script, design a poster and conceptual art, hold a script reading with the cast and attended by the press, and promote the film in the trades - CRAZY.

You don't have to see this one in the theatre, but I do recommend it to anyone who likes good stories and historical dramas. Look for Argo to be nominated as one of the Oscar's 10 Best Pictures this year. My only wish is that the fake sci-fi film within a film 'Argo' was actually made into a real movie; would have been fun to review that one...